1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of glycosylation engineering of proteins. More particularly, the present invention relates to glycosylation engineering to generate proteins with improved therapeutic properties, including antibodies with increased antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity.
2. Background Art
Glycoproteins mediate many essential functions in human beings, other eukaryotic organisms, and some prokaryotes, including catalysis, signaling, cell-cell communication, and molecular recognition and association. They make up the majority of non-cytosolic proteins in eukaryotic organisms. (Lis et al., Eur. J. Biochem. 218:1-27 (1993)). Many glycoproteins have been exploited for therapeutic purposes, and during the last two decades, recombinant versions of naturally-occurring, secreted glycoproteins have been a major product of the biotechnology industry. Examples include erythropoietin (EPO), therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (therapeutic mAbs), tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), interferon-β, (IFN-β), granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF), and human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG). (Cumming et al., Glycobiology 1:115-130 (1991)).
The oligosaccharide component can significantly affect properties relevant to the efficacy of a therapeutic glycoprotein, including physical stability, resistance to protease attack, interactions with the immune system, pharmacokinetics, and specific biological activity. Such properties may depend not only on the presence or absence, but also on the specific structures, of oligosaccharides. Some generalizations between oligosaccharide structure and glycoprotein function can be made. For example, certain oligosaccharide structures mediate rapid clearance of the glycoprotein from the bloodstream through interactions with specific carbohydrate binding proteins, while others can be bound by antibodies and trigger undesired immune reactions. (Jenkins et al., Nature Biotechnol. 14:975-81 (1996)).
Mammalian cells are the preferred hosts for production of therapeutic glycoproteins, due to their capability to glycosylate proteins in the most compatible form for human application. (Cumming et al., Glycobiology 1: 115-30 (1991); Jenkins et al., Nature Biotechnol. 14:975-81 (1996)). Bacteria very rarely glycosylate proteins, and like other types of common hosts, such as yeasts, filamentous fungi, insect and plant cells, yield glycosylation patterns associated with rapid clearance from the bloodstream, undesirable immune interactions, and in some specific cases, reduced biological activity. Among mammalian cells, Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells have been most commonly used during the last two decades. In addition to giving suitable glycosylation patterns, these cells allow consistent generation of genetically stable, highly productive clonal cell lines. They can be cultured to high densities in simple bioreactors using serum-free media, and permit the development of safe and reproducible bioprocesses. Other commonly used animal cells include baby hamster kidney (BHK) cells, NS0- and SP2/0-mouse myeloma cells. More recently, production from transgenic animals has also been tested (Jenkins et al., Nature Biotechnol. 14:975-81 (1996)).
All antibodies contain carbohydrate structures at conserved positions in the heavy chain constant regions, with each isotype possessing a distinct array of N-linked carbohydrate structures, which variably affect protein assembly, secretion or functional activity. (Wright, A., and Morrison, S. L., Trends Biotech. 15:26-32 (1997)). The structure of the attached N-linked carbohydrate varies considerably, depending on the degree of processing, and can include high-mannose, multiply-branched as well as biantennary complex oligosaccharides. (Wright, A., and Morrison, S. L., Trends Biotech. 15:26-32 (1997)). Typically, there is heterogeneous processing of the core oligosaccharide structures attached at a particular glycosylation site such that even monoclonal antibodies exist as multiple glycoforms. Likewise, it has been shown that major differences in antibody glycosylation occur between cell lines, and even minor differences are seen for a given cell line grown under different culture conditions. (Lifely, M. R. et al., Glycobiology 5(8):813-22 (1995)).
Unconjugated monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) can be useful medicines for the treatment of cancer, as demonstrated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's approval of Rituximab (Rituxan™; IDEC Pharmaceuticals, San Diego, Calif., and Genentech Inc., San Francisco, Calif.), for the treatment of CD20 positive B-cell, low-grade or follicular Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and Trastuzumab (Herceptin™; Genentech Inc,) for the treatment of advanced breast cancer (Grillo-Lopez, A.-J., et al., Semin. Oncol. 26:66-73 (1999); Goldenberg, M. M., Clin. Ther. 21:309-18 (1999)). The success of these products relies not only on their efficacy but also on their outstanding safety profiles (Grillo-Lopez, A.-J., et al., Semin. Oncol. 26:66-73 (1999); Goldenberg, M. M., Clin. Ther. 21:309-18 (1999)). In spite of the achievements of these two drugs, there is currently a large interest in obtaining higher specific antibody activity than what is typically afforded by unconjugated mAb therapy.
One way to obtain large increases in potency, while maintaining a simple production process and potentially avoiding significant, undesirable side effects, is to enhance the natural, cell-mediated effector functions of mAbs by engineering their oligosaccharide component (Umaña, P. et al., Nature Biotechnol. 17:176-180 (1999)). IgG1 type antibodies, the most commonly used antibodies in cancer immunotherapy, are glycoproteins that have a conserved N-linked glycosylation site at Asn297 in each CH2 domain. The two complex bi-antennary oligosaccharides attached to Asn297 are buried between the CH2 domains, forming extensive contacts with the polypeptide backbone, and their presence is essential for the antibody to mediate effector functions such as antibody dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) (Lifely, M. R., et al., Glycobiology 5:813-822 (1995); Jefferis, R., et al., Immunol Rev. 163:59-76 (1998); Wright, A. and Morrison, S. L., Trends Biotechnol. 15:26-32 (1997)).
The present inventors showed previously that overexpression in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells of β(1,4)-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase III (GnTIII), a glycosyltransferase catalyzing the formation of bisected oligosaccharides, significantly increases the in vitro ADCC activity of an anti-neuroblastoma chimeric monoclonal antibody (chCE7) produced by the engineered CHO cells. (See Umaña, P. et al., Nature Biotechnol. 17:176-180 (1999), International Publication No. WO 99/54342, the entire contents of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety). The antibody chCE7 belongs to a large class of unconjugated mAbs which have high tumor affinity and specificity, but have too little potency to be clinically useful when produced in standard industrial cell lines lacking the GnTIII enzyme (Umana, P., et al., Nature Biotechnol. 17:176-180 (1999)). That study was the first to show that large increases of maximal in vitro ADCC activity could be obtained by increasing the proportion of constant region (Fc)-associated, bisected oligosaccharides above the levels found in naturally occurring antibodies. To determine if this finding could be extrapolated to an unconjugated mAb, which already has significant ADCC activity in the absence of bisected oligosaccharides, the present inventors have applied this technology to Rituximab, the anti-CD20, IDEC-C2B8 chimeric antibody. The present inventors have likewise applied the technology to the unconjugated anti-cancer mAb chG250.